Social Media is Part of Your Entire Company- Not Just Marketing

Social Media has now become part of most companies’ marketing strategies. If it hasn’t, well, I wish those companies luck. However, using the power of Social Media only for your marketing campaigns is being short-sighted. Social Media can be a part of your ENTIRE company, from Marketing to Sales to HR to Customer Service.

Most of us know that Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram are some of the most popular social platforms on earth. We are using these powerful sites to promote, educate and drive a community of followers. However, Social Media is capable of so much more.

One of the next stage for businesses is to use Social Media for customer service. I know, I know.. ” but what if they say negative things about my company?” Guest what- If they can not post a negative comment on YOUR social platforms, they will post it on THEIRS. Wouldn’t you rather control the conversation rather than not knowing the conversation is going on at all? Plus, most people do not post negative comments on a business profile until they have been ignored in other ways, such as their calls or emails not being returned.

One of the best examples of using Social Media for customer service is Comcast. Yes- Comcast! Believe it or not, they were one of the first companies using Social in this way, and they have it down to a science. What was derived from their experience is that by helping customers initially publicly, it made their organization more personable. There was an actual person behind the messaging. People understand that companies are not perfect. They just want to know that the company cares to fix their customers’ issues in a timely fashion. By using Social Media as the medium for initial contact, you demonstrate this to not only the customer needing hellp, but to everyone else who is watching. There are also other lessons learned, which I will explore in another post.

An additional use of Social Media in another area of your business is within the HR Department. We all know how difficult it is to find great employees. By using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube, for instance, to spread the word about what a great company you are and why someone would want to work for you, you exponentially grow your message’s reach organically. If you are looking for a specific position to fill, post a video of what you are looking for in a candidate. If you are doing great things for your employees- let us know through Social Media. If you are launching new employee initiatives, use Social Media for PR opportunities. By leveraging the power of Social in your HR department, you are able to let a much larger audience know how great your company is, thus, you will find more applicants will be submitting resumes.

Social Media is far reaching and more powerful that most realize. Be creative when using it. Think about how each of your departments can utilize and leverage this medium. If you need help brainstorming ideas of how to use it for your business, reach out to me. I’m FULL of ideas!